This Week

My baby turned 2 this week. Her gift from us was a roller coaster, and she loved it. It takes up a lot of space, but they stay on it. She will have her sock monkey party this weekend.

We had some beautiful weather the first of this week. The girls spent every afternoon playing outsidewith the bubble mower and cars. Please notice who is in the driver's seat!

After reading other blogs, I want to report that Jason is also home, at least until turkey season. He has shaved and looking ready for spring. The shaving is a big deal!! It grows and grows, and I am not sure why. One reason I have heard is that it is warmer--whatever! The second is that the ducks can't see it--again whatever! It is bright orange; I don't know how ducks would miss that.

Brittany and I took some girls to see an Annie play. It was put on by a private school near here; it was wonderful--very professional! Annie was the first movie I ever saw in the theater, so I jumped at the chance for it to be a memory for Mattie Claire. She loves the movie and sings "Little Girls" all the time.

On a side note, Mermaid is having puppies--SOON! Three are spoken for, but if there are more we would love for you to have one. Mermaid is a miniature dachshund; she is long-haired and dapple. The father is 1/2 shih tzu and 1/2 dachshund. Mermaid is beautiful, so I am confident the puppies will be precious:0)

Fishing Tray

There was a slight misunderstanding, and I have an extra tray. I kind of like the fish. I was thinking a name would be cute in the water with some fishing line and bobbers. It is listed in my etsy shop and ready to ship.

That's Why I Do What I Do

I don't know where to begin with this story. I am an art teacher, and I mostly love what I do. I could pass on some of the paperwork, but that's another story. After many nights of prayer, I left the only school system I had ever known and began teaching in a new system three years ago. I knew VERY (2-3) few people and was sick/pregnant with my second baby. My first year there was not great. My second year there was better, but they added a new school to my schedule. This school was not the most outstanding in the parish and had discipline problems I had never had to face, so needless to say, I was scared and reluctant. I was worried for nothing; I had only two students and loved them. They were no trouble, quiet, polite hard workers. This year was a little different; I got three new students. Two of them were good friends from spending so much time together in alternative school. I was scared all over again, but it was again for nothing. Art was what these young men needed to get them motivated. Niether has been suspended this year, and they are making excellent grades. Each has shared a little of their personal lives with me over the past few months. I am dealing with students whose parents are struggling with addictions or even in prison.


I made the brave decision to take all 25 of my students on a field trip. Not quite brave enough for overnight, we left on a charter bus at 5:00 am on the 5 hour drive. About 2.5 hours into the drive, we stopped for a break. When, we boarded the bus the boys said they had something for me, and I couldn't cry. They had bought me a watch, and yes, I cried. There were kids on that bus that have extra and then there were these boys--boys that don't always have parents behind them pushing and certainly don't have anything extra to share. The class of 5 at the school I was initially scared of had pooled their money and bought me a watch, a beautiful gold watch that I will wear until it falls apart! The trip was great. We had to drag them from the aquarium, because they had never experienced anything like that. The 10 hour ride was rough, knowing I had sick babies at home, but I received so many blessings on that trip. I hope I have given all of those kids a wonderful, forever memory.

On a side note, I want to say thank you. I sent out a quick email asking for sponsors. We raised the huge expense of the bus through fundraisers, but that left tickets and meals. The response was unbelievable! My friends sponsored these kids and gave spending money. You know who you are, and I wish you could have experienced them seeing these things for the first time. What an amazing trip!

Yeehaw, Valentine!

I keep up with two blogs. One has a daughter, so she is always looking for cute little girl stuff. She found the cutest Valentine's on etsy. I had to get my little cowgirl some for her class. They were very quick to reply, and I can't wait to get our valentines. To order your own Valentine's, check out partyplace on etsy.

Valentine's

Here are some of the pails I am offering for Valentine's Day. These pails are $10 each and include wrapping. You can see a completed pail a couple of posts back. Remember I can create a pail for any price range and can include stick balloons and helium balloons.

4th Opinion!

I was excited that our second opinion said---NO SURGERY! Still in pain and lots of complications, went Jason back to the doctor yesterday. They did emergency surgery, but he is home and on the mend. I just want to see him better! Most of you know that we have had a rough year. This is the fourth surgery since last February just in our house. I am sure our insurance hopes we will slow down! Have a great weekend.

Valentine's Day

I am working on Valentine's Day stuff. I am out of school that Friday, so I can deliver to local schools. I have some heart pails that I am personalizing, with paint or vinyl. I can fill with treats and wrap for any price range and also include balloons. The package shown is $10; it includes personalized pail, conversation hearts, animal crackers, lollipop, valentine candy, valentine bubbles, and cute Valentine straw. The whole package is topped with Hugs and Kisses ribbon. I have balloons on a stick or balloons to be filled helium. Just give me a call with your order, and we can make a special gift for your valentine!

I Think We're Gonna Live

Wow, what a weekend!!! Poor Mattie Claire was sick Thursday and missed the trip with me and my students on Friday. Molly threw up Friday, with Jason home alone to clean it up. Mattie Claire started again on Saturday with the puking and running fever--double yuck. I slept most of the day; I thought I was just getting over the trip--WRONG! I got it too. I spent Sunday on my death bed with some extras that thank goodness the girls didn't have. I am on the mend, but I have a terrible headache today. I guess that is just part of it.

On a positive note, Jason does not have to have surgery. Woo Hoo for second opinions!! I won't name any names, because I know many of you readers are local. We weren't quite sure of the first diagnosis from a surgeon in our area, so we made another out of town appointment. I know Jason is soooo glad. I wish I could give more medical condition details, but I am sure it would end in divorce. I really love my husband, so let's just leave it at that.

One of Those Days

Today is one of those days we all should have just stayed in bed! Jason is sick again and had to stay home. I drive the 30 minutes to school and realize Mattie Claire has fever and a stomach ache. My mom came to the rescue and picked her up. She barely made it back home, and I found out the babysitter's granddaughter (who lives with her) was throwing up. I couldn't ask my mom to turn back around, so Jason drug himself out of bed and picked Molly up. He went and got Mattie Claire. He was about 2 miles from our house when she threw up all in his truck--Yuck!! He comes home changes her....and gives her his doctor's appointment. After getting a diagnosis of "virus," he makes the drop off with my mom and heads to the hospital. He meets with a general surgeon and schedules a surgery for next week--totally unexpected, but I hope he gets to feeling better. All of this on the day before....I take 30 kids on a field trip that is five hours away! Wish us luck!

It is CONFIRMED!!

The Beaubouef household has gone "buggy;" our guests confirmed today that they would be at our big birthday bash. I will keep giving clues. Make sure you check out the previous post. We are EXCITED!! We have picked an early afternooon at the end of February. More details coming soon.....

WOW

I am sure most of my local followers know about the big bash we have coming up. I don't want to give too much away, but here is a sneak peak at....???

Here is a link to the creator:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/birchangel

Kelly's Kids

We are doing Kelly's Kids again this season. Mama is the technical rep, but I will still be helping her out with everything. There is some precious stuff again this season. My favorite outfit that I bought last season was a long romper in light blue and brown with a big sash for Molly. I am excited to see that they have a similar cropped outfit this spring in lots of colors, but lavender is my favorite. Give me a call if you want to place an order or have a catalog party. If you know what you want, Brittany will be closing out her party in a couple of weeks. Mandi is having a show in her home if you need to try things on. Let me know if you have any questions. Check out kellyskids.com to see the new bedding line, baby clothes, and swimsuits. Back again this season---summer sandals!! I love these.

Sock Monkeys

The sock monkeys were a big hit at Christmas. Santa left them hanging from the girls' stockings. I have decided for Molly to have a sock monkey birthday party at the end of this month. I contacted the elf that made the stockings for Christmas and asked her to make me some plain sock monkeys. They came in yesterday and are great! I will have markers, buttons, flowers, ribbon, ... for the kids to use to decorate the monkeys at the party. I may do some totes to fill with goodies too. We will just have to see how the time works out; don't forget that I am working on the Vexcon bash too. Whew!

Here is the link for these great monkeys:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ElegantHobbies

Update!!

I promise the photos look worse the than injuries really are. Molly was running around and playing about 3 minutes after the "fight." My phone has not been ringing off the hook, so I am assuming that the grandmothers are not online! She is sleeping comfortably and doing very well:0) Good night, everyone

Love Stinks!

Molly got into a fight with the fireplace screen, and I am not sure who won!! Preparing to build a fire, Jason stood the screen up on the floor and left the room. Who knows what her plans were, but it fell on her eye and face. It was the type of thing that makes your stomach drop. You hear the first initial cry, then nothing. She is crying so hard that no sound is coming out. I am already feeling a little queasy from seeing my baby hurt, THEN she wanted her daddy instead of me!! Yes, that broke my heart. Oh but she will want her mommy at bed time. The first picture looks a little worse than it really is, but I put it up for dramatics. As I am snapping these pictures, she is singing along to the Swiffer commercial--"la schtinks, yeah, yeah..."

Tomorrow

All the Christmas decorations are down. Molly helped me undecorate the house. Her idea of helping was pulling the ornaments as hard as she could until the fell off the tree, then she would throw them in the box. I have enjoyed my two weeks with them, playing and just hanging out. My stomach does a little flip when I think about tomorrow. I love my job, so it is not that I mind the work part--I mind the getting up before 6:00, getting the girls ready, ... I am taking my kids on a BIG field trip in a couple of weeks. It has been a lot of planning, and I am sure I missed something major. It always catches me off guard when I realize I am the adult! Monday will be straight back to work for sure.

I didn't make any specific resolutions this year, but I do want to be better. There are lots of areas that I can improve on! I always put my girls before housework, but I would like to do a better job of balancing both. Could I possibly keep my girls happy and my house neat, not immaculate--just neat??? My second improvement will be as a Christian. I got a daily devotional Bible for Christmas that will lead me to read the Bible in one year. I hope that becoming a stronger Christian may make me better in all the other areas. I also just read about a devotional for girls (little girls). Mattie Claire has had a love of God and devil questions lately, so I may have to find me one of those books. Good luck to everyone headed back to work tomorrow; have a great week.

It's a New Year

New Year's Eve was pretty nice. Brittany and I took the kids to see a movie. Jason and I shot fireworks off the porch with the girls, because of the neverending rain! We went to bed pretty early, but I woke up when all the neighbors starting shooting their fireworks at midnight.

I do the same thing every New Year's Day. I cook cabbage with sausage and potatoes and black eyed peas over rice. I cook the best peas!!:0) I actually buy the bagged peas from the Pea Patch. They come with the seasonings ready to go! You dump it all in the crock pot, cover with water, and cook all night--very easy! If you know anything about my cooking abilities, you know that is about the extent of my skills. I shared with the family--sent plates to the in laws and my mom. Jason and Molly won't try it, and Mattie Claire and I have had our fill; I think we will throw the rest out. I hope everyone's New Year was as restful and wonderful as ours, now back to work!